A wide variety of communication cables and/or other types of cables are designed for use in indoor applications. These cables, which are typically referred to as premise cables, may include, for example, riser cables (i.e., cables intended for use in vertical areas between floors in a building) and plenum cables (i.e., cables intended for use in horizontal areas of a building, such as air ducts). Typically, premise cables are designed to satisfy various premise or indoor cabling standards, such as flame retardancy, flame propagation, and/or burn standards. In contrast to outside plant or outdoor cables, premise cables are not designed to satisfy any water blocking standards. However, certain premise cables are installed in areas of a building that may be subject to relatively higher humidity. For example, premise cables may be installed in non-air conditioned environments subject to higher temperatures and humidity, thereby subjecting the cables to increased water vapor. The presence of even the smallest amount of water, such as water vapor that penetrates an outer jacket of a cable, can impact the electrical and mechanical properties of the cable, leading to decreased or degraded cable performance.
The selection of outer jacket materials often plays a role in both water vapor permeation and water absorption characteristics. Polymers with groups containing oxygen, such as nylons, are typically prone to water absorption. Contrarily, polymers containing carbon and hydrogen, as well as their halogenated counterparts, will typically resist or repel water. However, a polymer's ability to resist water or water vapor car be changed dramatically when compounded with other materials that may attract water, such as plasticizers and certain reinforcing and/or non-reinforcing fillers. In addition, temperature fluctuations may affect the ability of a compounded material to resist water. For instance, compounded materials may show little to no susceptibility to water vapor at relatively low to moderate temperatures; however, the same compound may absorb water vapor at elevated temperatures. In other words, regardless of the materials utilized to form a cable jacket, it is possible that water vapor may penetrate the jacket and negatively impact the performance of the cable. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for improved methods and techniques for use in mitigating moisture within premise cables.